Car-brake



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 H.'A GALLAGER. Gar Brake.

(N0 Model.)

Pafented March1,1'881.

INVENTOR: @w he@ ATTORNEYS.

wASmMm'ON. D C.

(No Model.)

H. GALLAGER.

Car Brake. No. 238,379. Patented Mrch 1,1881.

`W N SES: v INVENTRI fff@ f ZZZ 2 .ShetS--Sheet 2.

, ATTORNEYS.-

llNiTen STATES PATENT Trice.

CAR-BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 238,379, dated March 1,1881.

Application iled January l2, 1881.

To all 'whom 'it 'may concern Be it known that 1, HENRY GALLAGER, ofSavannah, in the county ot' Chatham and State ot- Georgia, have inventeda new and Improved Gar-Brake; and l do hereby declare that the followingis a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, forming part oi' this specification, inwhich- Figure l is a plan view with one end ofthe floor-timbers and theLipper cross-bar of the truck broken away. Fig. 2 is a section throughthe line x fr, Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a section through the line y y, Fig. l.Fig. 4 is a plan view of a modification. Fig. 5 is a sectional detailrelatin g thereto.

My invention relates to certain improvements in car-brakes of that typewhich automatically apply the brakes through the movement of thedraw-bar.

My improvements contemplate the constant pressure of the brakes upon thewheels whenever the draw-bar is in its normal position of rest, andwhich brakes are released or withdrawn from the wheels whenever thedraftstrain pulls the draw-bar out, or whenever the draw-bars are drivenin by backing, so that whenever the locomotive approaches a condition ofrest, whether in moving forward or backward, the brakes commence to beapplied automatically, but are not applied when the power of thelocomotive is being transmitted to the cars for the transportation ofthe same.

My invention consists in the peculiar means for accomplishing theseresults in a practical way, which means are applicable alike to eithersteam or street cars, as will be hereinafter more fully described.

In the drawings, Arepresents the hoor-timbers of a car, beneath which,at each end, are arranged the trucks, as usual. Each truck being exactlyalike, a description of one will suffice for both. The side frames ofeach truck, which carry the bearin gs of the wheels, are connected bytwo cross-bars, B B', whose ends are separated by blocks c a', Fig. 2soas to hold these cross-bars vertically one above the other, with a spacebetween them, in which space are located the devices for applying thebrakes. Longitudinally in this space and crosswise of the car isarranged a deiiector- (No model.)

lever, C, whose ends are connected, by rods b b, to the ends ot' acorresponding lever on the other truck similarly equipped. Thisdeilectorlever is fulcrumed on a vertical bolt in the middle of thecrossbars, and has upon its under side an elongated lug, c, extending onboth sides ot' its i'ulcrum. Within the space between the two bars B B',and bearing iiatly against the opposite sides of the elongated lu g, aretwo bar-springs, D D', stittly connected at their outer ends to one ofthe bars B B'. rlhe inner ends of these stiff springs are jointed to therods d d', which extend longitudinally with the car to the twobrake-bars E E' of each truck. Now, whenever the deiector-lever C restsat right angles to thelongitudinal axis of the car the ends of thesprings D D' approach each other as closely as the flat sides of the lugc will permit, and these springs consequently draw the rods d d' to thecenter and apply the brake-bars to the wheels. When, however, thedefiector-lever C is thrown into an oblique position, the ends of thesprings D D are forced apart by the lug o, and the brake-bars E E' withtheir shoes are thrown away from the wheels. As shown,

these brake-bars have their shoes jointed at the top to the ends oflongitudinal bars F F, resting above the end frames of the trucks, justoutside of the wheels; but they may be supported bychains, or in anyother suitable way.

For causing the detlector-lever C to control the brakes automaticallythrough the drawbar, I attach to the draw-bar G a link-rod, e,connecting with a lever, H, resting in the space between cross-bars BB', just above the delector-lever. The outer end of this lever H isfulcrumed to the outer ends of these crossbais. At its middle it isjointed to the end of the detlector-lever C, and at its other end, whereit connects with the draw-bar, it is provided with a curved slot, b,through which passes the fulcrum-bolt of the defiector-lever to limitthe movement of this lever H. Now, it will be seen that in the normalposition of rest ot' the draw-bar the brakes are applied by the springsD D. When, however, a draft is applied to start the car, the draw-barpulls against the tension of the springs, through the levers H and C,and the brakebars are pro- ICO jected away from the wheels, remaining sountil the draft is relieved. Ou the other hand, when the draw-bar isdriven in by the backing of the cars, the lever C is deflected in theopposite direction, and the brakes released from the wheels and heldapart from the same so long as the compressing strain exists. With thisconstruction it will be seen that the same mechanism supplies means forautomatically applying' and removing the brake, no matter whether goingbackward or forward, and, besides, the spring serves the additionalfunction of rendering the draw-bars yieldinO.

In modifying my invention for use ou streetcars, I locate (see Fig. 4)the springs DZDBon a cross-bar, I, on the bottom ofthe car-frame,between the wheels, and arrange the same deiiector-lever U upon a centerbolt with its lug depending between the lapping inner ends ot' thesprings, and the ends ot' the lever C I counect to the independentlevers Gf, corresponding to II in Fig. l, and which levers areconnected, by cha-ins, to the draw-bars H', the ends Of these springsbeing connected, by rods d d', to the brake-bars i E3. The action ofthese devices is substantially the same as that before described, exceptthat no provision is made for backing, noue being required. To put thebrakes, however, in this case under the control of the driver, so as topermit him to hold them away from the wheels without regard to thedraft, as in going down grade, I perforate the draw-bar at g, andprovide beneath the platform a depressible spring, h, Fig. 5, bearing alocking-stud, i, that passes through the holes on the draw-bar to holdit in any given position, this stud being removed from the holes at thewill of the driver by a stud, j, rising through theplatform, which maybe depressed by the'drivers foot.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is 1. Thedeector-lever C, fulcrumed in its middle transversely to the car, andprovided with lug c, combined with the springs I) D, bearing on oppositesides ot this lug a set of rods connecting with the brake-bars, and alever connecting with the draw-bars, substantially as and for thepurpose described.

2. The draw-bar of a street-car, perforated and combined with a springbearing a locking'fstud, t', and a depressible stennj, and with a set ofbrakes arranged, as described, to be applied when the draw-bar is in thenormal position otl rest.

HENRY GALLAGER.

/Vitnesses:

EDW. XV. BYRN, GHAs. A. PETTIT.

